Pirates of the Caribbean: Past, Present & Future

[snowrunner]

That reminds me - <Best. Wedding. Ever>

[Binky]

I think the movie is great fun but I am still wondering why they decided to make Elizabeth basically the main character?

I think because Johnny Depp chewed up and spit out Orlando Bloom so badly in the first and second movies.

[huntergrayson]

I think one could make the argument that Captain Jack was the main-ish character of the first, Will of the second (with the daddy drama and the arc of becoming less of a wuss) and Elizabeth the main character of this one. Which I think is kinda cool.

I also don't get the "too convoluted" criticism -- it's not that complicated and, well, even if it is, I'd rather a film have actual complications and subplots than be totally simplistic and mindless. Plus, unlike the lackadasiacal journey to cannibal land in DMC, the subplots here actually all came together at the end in a really compelling way, IMO. The Calypso/Davy Jones love story then becoming Will/Elizabeth's? Genius!

I kinda liked the Slate review that was basically "approach it as abstract art" and don't worry so much about the narrative, but I thought the story was great. Plus, I knew he was genius back around The Ring, but man, does Gore Verbinski know how to work a camera. This film has some of the most poetic and lyrical imagery I've seen in a summer blockbuster. [the boat ride under the stars! the rocks/snowcrabs of Davy Jones's Locker/Purgatory! The fantastic slow-motion apocalypse of Beckett's death) And darkness -- good actual darkness, not Emo Spidey darkness. The scenes between Elizabeth and her dead father and Will's dad were really gutwrenching. I also gasped at some of the Calypso effects like turning Davy Jones human and sucking Barbosa's life out of his hand.

I also really love how well these films balance comic relief with suspense and adventure. Captain Jack's dementia could go from funny to haunting and back again.

Yes, it was hella entertaining, but damn if there isn't a strong undercurrent of poeticism and mythos. And I'm going to stop now before I get all film school geeky and "genre is how we create myth" and whatnot.

[Binky]

I also really love how well these films balance comic relief with suspense and adventure. Captain Jack's dementia could go from funny to haunting and back again.

Yeah. You know, initially I was torn between liking it or thinking it was Depp wanting to be ridiculous. But then, I realized that >> his dementia was a really powerful tool. For Jack, the locker is hell. It makes him crazy, and not in the clever, mysterious way that he's crazy in the world. He was delusional and, IMO, tortured by those delusions. I liked how those hallucinations only occurred in the locker or on Davey Jones' boat. Jack had real incentive not to go back and not to die, and his desire for immortality to avoid that fate drove the last quarter of the film. When he saved Will, he sacrificed his own safety from that fate. And so his dementia had real gravity, while also allowing << Depp to be a giant goof, which I'm sure he loved.

I really enjoyed this movie. It's visually gorgeous, faithful to the characters, and damn entertaining. Frankly, the only part I thought was unneccessary was the part in Singapore. I would have been fine with a very short intro of Sao Feng.

[india7]

Was Keith Richards fun as Jack Sparrow's dad? My nieces and nephew went to see it, but they don't really know who he is.

[plainjane]

The rumour going around is that Gore Verbinski had to hold Keith's ankles because he had the shakes so bad. He was pretty amusing, but I don't think he said more than five words. At one point, Jack asks him how Mum is, and he pulls out a shrunken head. Heh. I got a kick out of seeing him and the resemblance between them, but it's not worth the price of admission or anything.

[Binky]

I thought Keith Richards was amazing. Probably because I was expecting a stilted non-actorly presence, but he didn't stand out at all. I don't think a lot of people knew who he was.

[Deleted]

I know I hardly recognized him, if I didn't know going in that he was in the movie I wouldn't have been able to spot him. And so my continuing fascination of the man that is Keith Richards continues.

[MrsCatHead]

huntergrayson said:

Plus, I knew he was genius back around The Ring, but man, does Gore Verbinski know how to work a camera. This film has some of the most poetic and lyrical imagery I've seen in a summer blockbuster. ... The fantastic slow-motion apocalypse of Beckett's death) ..

[/color][/quote]

That slo-mo scene was one of the most beautiful I'd seen onscreen in a while. In fact, I think it's my favorite from the movie. Well done, GV.

[incognito]

I might be the only person who doesn't get the hotness of Johnny Depp. Particularly when he's a pirate. He just looks…dirty. Like, hygienically dirty.

I don't think the various plots for this story were pulled together too well, but for some reason I was a sucker for the Will/Elizabeth storyline this time around, Elizabeth's Mary Sue-dom notwithstanding. Although the whole wedding during the fight had me thinking why nobody tried to stab them while they were macking on each other.